Aston Villa boss John Gregory has confirmed the club will appeal against the red card awarded to striker Dion Dublin during last night's 3-1 win at Southampton. Dublin was sent off in the 57th minute after a clash with Saints defender Tahar El Khalej while the two teams were waiting for a free-kick to be taken but television replays showed the contact between the pair was minimal.
"It was quite pathetic. There's been so much spoken about players diving and there was hardly any contact. Dublin certainly didn't headbutt him. I hope the referee Steve Dunn looks at it and rescinds the decision - I hope common sense prevails," said Gregory. The Villa boss also attacked El Khalej for his role in the incident.
"The Southampton boy was disgraceful in the way he fell to the floor, rolled over six times and carried on playing. I'd be embarrassed if I was him, to have done that. They did put their heads together, but it's their boy's fault just as much as Dion's. I hope that the FA will look at it and deal with it accordingly," he added.
Dublin's sending-off came less than five minutes after Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap was sent-off for the Saints for bringing down Hassan Kachloul as he headed for the Southampton goal. Gregory also believes that decision was harsh.
"Rory Delap was very, very unlucky to have been sent of. At the time, my first reaction was that he denied Hassan Kachloul the opportunity of scoring. Had he stuck out a leg and meant to do it, the punishment is to leave the field of play. But when you sit and watch the TV, no way did he intend to bring down Hassan. I've been campaigning for a third eye for a long time, and if someone upstairs had made the decision on that incident, I'm sure it would have been a yellow card," added Gregory.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
